By
Bill Alden

Lindsay Millert didn't have the option of specializing
in any single event when she took up track as a seventh-grader
at the Princeton Charter School several years ago.

With
a small team of only 15 kids, each athlete had to wear many hats
in order for the squad to compete at meets.

Millert, who
started with sprinting events and the shot put, took her versatility
with her when she went to the Lawrenceville School.

After
dabbling in basketball and considering field hockey, the Princeton
resident dedicated herself to track and doing whatever events
the team needed.

Ending her Lawrenceville career in style,
Millert set a slew of school records this school year in leading
the Big Red to indoor and outdoor state Prep A track titles.

In reflecting on a year which has seen her set school records
in the hurdles, long jump, and shot put, Millert said that her
introduction to track at Princeton Charter got her headed to the
record books.

"I had fun right from the start even
if I didn't know what I was doing," said Millert. "I
remember that the track team took a trip to the Penn Relays in
the seventh grade and that was awesome. I had never seen anything
like that and I became obsessed with the sport. I ran in the 4x400
relay at the Penn Relays as a freshman at Lawrenceville and that
was great."

Another seminal moment in Millert's journey
to track stardom came when she was on a junior semester abroad
at the Island School in the Bahamas.

"We had a 48-hour
solo' where I was totally by myself," recalled Millert,
whose basketball career at Lawrenceville ended during her sophomore
year after tearing her ankle ligaments for a third time in two
seasons.

"I decided during that exercise that I wanted
to do track in college. I'm built for many events so it was natural
for me to try the pentathlon and heptathlon."

Upon
returning to Lawrenceville, Millert was thrilled to find that
a former Princeton decathlete Mo Warren had joined the Big Red
coaching staff. Under his tutelage, Millert started training for
the multi-sport disciplines.

In the pentathlon, the athletes
compete in the 60-meter hurdles, the high jump, the shot put,
the long jump, and conclude with an 800-meter race.

Last
winter, Millert competed in the event at the National Scholastic
track Championships and took fifth, earning All-American status.

With her love for track, it is not surprising that Millert thrives
on the juggling act she must perform in order to train for the
multi-sport events.

"I work on three events each day
during a five-day training week," explained Millert.

"I
may do a running event and work on the jumps. On other days, I'll
work on my throwing and hit the weights. I kind of do my own program.
Coach [Bill] Schroeder knows I will push myself."

Schroeder,
for his part, had little doubt that Millert would work to get
the most out her considerable natural ability.

"Lindsay
is a very hard worker," said Schroeder, who has been coaching
the Lawrenceville girls' track team since 1993.

"She
is 5'11 and very sculpted; she has a real athlete's body. She
has very good speed for someone that size. She started working
in the weight room this winter and she really took to it. She
was very strong coming into this season."

Millert's versatility
and strength were key factors underlying the success of the Big
Red squad this spring which saw it go undefeated and win both
the state Prep A title and the Mid-Atlantic Prep League (MAPL)
titles.

"We really needed her strength this year,"
asserted Schroeder, who typically used Millert in the long jump,
hurdles, shot put, and 100 dash. "Girls' track is getting
more competitive every year. She really came on strong for us."

In addition, Millert's spirit rubbed off on her teammates through
her role as one of Lawrenceville's co-captains.

"She
displayed leadership qualities," added Schroeder. "She
was modest and the girls' looked up to her. She didn't shy away
from strong competition, she relished it."

Millert, for
her part, relished the chance to be a team leader. "I was
lucky enough to be a co-captain," said Millert. "It was so
much fun. At times it was nerve-wracking. We had such a talented
team that it would be a shame for us to lose."

Millert
will be looking to have fun this fall with another talented group
when she heads to Williams College, a Division III powerhouse.

With her All-American status and school-record performances, Millert
had the option to perform at the Division I level through the
Ivy League but she found Williams to be more conducive to her
multi-faceted approach.

"When I went to Williams, everybody
was so welcoming," said Millert. "I looked at the Ivy
and Patriot League schools and they were more perfunctory. You
can get burned out at a Division I school and get to the point
where you don't love the sport. I love track and I know I always
will at a place like Williams."

As she looks forward
to her Williams experience, Millert plans to apply lessons learned
at home and reinforced at Lawrenceville.

"My parents
have always told me that the best way to learn is through experience,"
said Millert. "Lawrenceville was the perfect place for me;
it had so many things to offer. I did 600 hours of community service;
I went to Guatemala and the Island School. Lawrenceville can be
a bubble but if you go for it, you can experience so many things."

When it comes to her track career, Millert went for it like few
others in Lawrenceville's history.